Availability data can be transmitted via our ical interface. We use the transmitted occupancy data:
- for the availability calendar in the entries
- for our readers’ search for available periods
Here are the technical details for the interface:
Technical basis
We use the ical protocol (iCalendar) in accordance with the international standard RFC 5545 for the exchange.
-> https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICalendar.
The exchange of availability data via the ical protocol is practiced in the form we use by many other platforms, e.g., airBNB, booking.com, Fewo, etc.
Therefore it is not a UA-specific solution!
A corresponding interface is available for different booking software or channel managers.
ical link
For each accommodation (apartment/room), we require a separate ical link (= URL) that allows us to retrieve the file with the current occupancy data at any time. For larger accommodations, data for room categories may also be used after prior consultation.
The list we need for setup could look like this, for example:
- Apartment 1, https://www.webseite.de/7d8c4a20caf04d15b12924433d5a0099.ics
- Apartment 2, https://www.webseite.de/7d8c4a20caf04d15b12924433d5a0098.ics
- Apartment 3 …
All ical links must be accessible without further authentication.
When the link is accessed, the current occupancy data is downloaded as an .ics file and processed by us.
We reload the occupancy data via the ical links every 6 hours and discard the older data.
The interface is unidirectional: we receive the current occupancy data; since URLAUBSARCHITEKTUR does not process bookings, the other party does not need any data from us.
.ics file
We require the data for all occupied or unavailable periods with start and end dates in the .ics file. The data from the current date onwards is required.
Each occupied period is a VEVENT in the .ics file; the data record for an occupancy is, for example:
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220520
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220207
END:VEVENT
There are some differences in the start and end dates, but we can usually process these, e.g.:
DTEND:20220609
DTSTART:20220608
DTEND:VALUE=DATE:20220609
DTSTART:VALUE=DATE:20220608
The .ics file may also contain additional information, e.g., details about the accommodation (room number, etc.), the booking (guest name, booking number, etc.), check-in/check-out times, or data from past bookings. All of this data may be included in the .ics file, but we do not process it.
We only process VEVENTs from the current date and only the start and end dates.
Please note the necessary data protection regulations if the .ics file contains such data.